Baggage-loader.



No. 653,942. Pa'tnted Iuly I7, IQIII).` F. J. WILLIS &. P. A. GRIFFITH.

BAGGAGE, LIJADER. (Appnction and Apr. 11, 1900.) Y

(No Modal.)

NITED STATES PATENT Orme FRANK J. IVILLIS AND PLYNN A. GRIFFITH, OF ONONDAGA, MICHIGAN.

BAG GAG E-LOADER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 653,942, dated July 17, 1900.

Application filed April 1l, 1900.

To all wwnt it Netty concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK J. IVILLIS and PLYNN A. GRIFFITH, citizens of the United States, residing at Onondaga, in the county of Ingham and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Baggage-Loaders, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention has reference to a device particularly designed and adapted for loadingand unloading baggage; andthe object of the invention is to so construct a device of this character that the raising and lowering of the baggage may be readily and quickly eifected and the wear to which the latter is subjected will be reduced to a minimum.

INith this object in view our invention consists, essentially, of a baggage-loader composed of two curved side members and a series of spaced rollers intermediate the members, the rollers being so arranged that a portion of each will extend beyond the convex sides of the members.

The invention further consists in other details of construction, which will be more fully hereinafter described, and shown in the drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of our improved loader, broken awayin parts; and Fig. 2 is a view illustrating the construction of the struts, the parts of the latterbeingshown detached.

The reference-letters B and C designate the curved side members before referred to, and D represents the rollers, spaced from each other and arranged intermediate the members, as shown. Each member is provided with a series of journal-bearings, as E, arranged near its convex side, and the rollers carry at their ends journals F, which extend within the bearings. As the result of this novel construction a part of each roller extends beyond the convex sides of the loader, and on account of the curvature of the members the trunk that is to be raised or lowered necessarily rests only on two of the rollers. Thus the corners of the baggage,which are usually provided with metallic corner-pieces, are kept out of contact with the loader, and in addition to the ease with which the baggage may be shifted the wear upon both the baggage and loader caused Serial No. 12,422. (No model.)

.tact with the latter is eliminated.

In order that a rigid structure may be produced and of as light weight as possible,we reinforce each side member byatrussrod, such as F, and struts G, arranged intermediate the rod and the concave side of the member. Each strut is composed of a tubular metallic member a and an eye screw or bolt b. The bolt extends through the member a and into and through the side member, the eyes of the bolts forming the retaining -heads for their complementary members. The struts are secured in position by means of nuts c, which engage the portions of the screws that project beyond the convex sides of the members.

The truss-rods extend, as shown, through the eyes of the bolts and are provided at their ends with angular portions e, which also extend through the side members. As indicated, the portions last referred to are threaded and are provided at their free ends with nuts f.

At the upper end of the loader described each side member is recessed, as at H, forming reduced portions I thereon, which are adapted to rest against the car in cases where the baggage is being loaded or unloaded therefrom. The lower end of the roller we prefer ably provide with foot-brackets J J, which are adapted to engage the support upon which the loader rests and prevent the latter from slipping and are also of sufficient length to raise the lower end of the loader a considerable distance from the ground to enable the operator to readily grasp the baggage.

Each foot-bracket is composed of a down; wardly-extending metallic strip h and an inclined strap or bar i, which constitutes a brace for the depending member. This strip h is secured in any suitable manner to the concave side of the member and extends downwardly a considerable distance therefrom. The member c' is secured to the concave side of the member preferably by means of the angular threaded portion ofthe truss-rod, as shown, and is provided with a laterally-extending portion j, which bears against the depending member h to brace the same. To further strengthen the structure thus described, brace-rods L andM are provided for the loader at its ends, and similar cross-rods O extend be- IOO tween the members at the cent-ral portion of the loader.

It will be obvious that the device thus described may be made of any desired length, and While we have shown the exact construction We do not desire to be limited to the same, as various modifications may be made Without departing from the spirit of our invention.

What We claim as our invention is- 1. Abaggage-loader,comprising two curved and separated side members, a series of spaced rollers intermediate and journaled Within said members, each roller having its cylindrical portion extending beyond the convex sides of the members, trussrods connecting the ends of each side member, and'struts between each truss-rod and the concave side of its member, substantially as described.

2. Abaggage-loader,comprisingtwo curved and separated side members, a series of spaced rollers intermediate the members, each roller extending beyond the convex side of the members, and foot-brackets upon the members at one end-of the loader, each composed of a depending vertical member and an inclined brace member.

3. A baggage-loader,comprising two cu rved and separated side members, a series of spaced rollers between and journaled Within said members, each roller having its cylindrical portion extending beyond the convex sides of the members, struts for eachvmember extending from the concave side of the members, bolts extending through the struts and secured to the members, said bolts being provided with heads having lateral openings formed therein, and a truss-rod connecting the ends of the member and extending through the openings in the bolt-heads.

4. A baggageloader,comprising two curved 4o 

